Reviews: Ha, Il-Kwon

Duty After School —
Ha Il-Kwon

This
week’s unexpected discovery is Ha Il-Kwon’s webtoon Duty
After School,
recommended in one of the many, many, very long comment threads over
File770, in the
context of “works worthy of a Hugo.” I had planned to limit
myself to a quick glance, which is how my archive binges always begin….

Being
a high school student is stressful enough; if you’re not swotting to
pass university entrance exams, you’re probably trying to figure out
what real world job to try for after graduation. And you have to deal
with crushes, friendships, and the adolescent pecking order. Happily
for Chi Kim and his fellow students of Sungdong high school, life
hands them an effective distraction.